Billiard 9/20

[Jeff_Grivers]

Hi all,

Could you guys please leave me some feedback and recommendations? I used a pre formed stem on this one but did a good amount of filing myself to get the mouthpiece thinner. I also put the white dot in using acrylic rod which i like but i feel like the acrylic i used isn't high quality because i can see some of the white coloring that is swirled in it like it wasn't mixed well enough. Kinda of like paint would look if you add color to it and don't mix it good enough. Has anyone else experienced that? Thank you.

[Sasquatch]

Lots to like there... your finish is looking pretty good both on the stem and the wood.

Not sure about the white acrylic - I have a few different whites, some swirlier than others. I just did a white dot pipe with a faux-bone insert and it looked great, not quite white but for sure not milky they way you are talking about, so just explore some other rod or method for this kind of thing.


Improvements - the back of the bowl is cut in a bit much as you head toward the shank, this is actually emphasized by the front of the bowl being a bit "belly" proud, so the whole shape of the bowl is kind of funhouse-mirrored toward the chin by this.

I'd like to see that stem/shank transition perfectly flat too, you have a buffed-out corner on the stem I reckon.

I'll do a pic here....

[Sasquatch]

I put a black line where the sides of the bowl look fattest to me - the back side (user side) of the bowl shows a hollow near the shank - you can see it inside the red line. The front of the bowl is a pretty nice curve actually, and I'd just like to see that visual mass point moved up a bit, but in truth, that depends very much on what school of billiard you look at, English vs Danish, or what factory.

[Jeff_Grivers]

Thanks SAS. I will have to purchase some acrylic rod from other places to see if i can find a difference in quality. Now that you put the lines on it i can definitely see that fat part on the back side that bulges out. Also what do you mean by buffed out corner on the stem? Like as in buffed the tennon and shoulder of the stem? Am i not supposed to do that? Thanks for the help.

[DocAitch]

A shot from the bottom would let us see how you treated the transition there.
I like to see the shank bowl junction well defined almost to the bottom of the bowl with symmetrical “valleys” that peter out toward the apex.
I can see the areas that Todd refers to on the stem. There are transverse (to the long axis) highlights that show either a high spot or the top of the curve. The light reflection should be continuous from shank to stem.
DocAitch

[Sasquatch]

All I meant on the stem was that where it connects to the shank, it looks slightly rounded over. That fit should be totally seamless.

The fit at that junction should be dead perfect and dead flat. On a billiard with a taper stem, the taper on the stem should start there too.

[Jeff_Grivers]

Ok Gotcha. I was think thats what you meant but wanted to be sure. When i hold it up to the light i can see a little light between stem and shank. i wonder if i am doing that with the fine grit sand paper or with the tripolie buff? I sand almost the entire stem with the stem on the shank. I will have to be more careful in my finishing process.

[Sasquatch]

"I will have to be more careful with my _________" is pipe making in a nutshell. Fill in the blank with, briar selection, shaping, drilling, sanding, finishing, slot work, stamping... all of it. There's 300 things to get right, and then just when you think you got it, you figure out some better way.

[DocAitch]

Somewhere on the forum, George Dibos discusses “gleam lines” and their significance.
Even when your piece looks good to you, when the gleam lines tell you differently, you have to pull out the files and recut it.
DocAitch

[DocAitch]

All I meant on the stem was that where it connects to the shank, it looks slightly rounded over. That fit should be totally seamless.

The fit at that junction should be dead perfect and dead flat. On a billiard with a taper stem, the taper on the stem should start there too.

Todd, that pipe looks familiar. Did I acguire it in Chicago this past May? I would pull it out to compare grain but am away from home at the moment.
DocAitch

[Sasquatch]

I'm not actually sure Doc, I just grabbed a pic with no glare focused on that transition. I think this is a different pipe because I think this is slightly smaller and a different briar source. But is was a very similar piece. People keep wanting billiards, so I keep making them.